Pokemon Adversity
by Jamie Lee Haas
Summary: It has been several years since the disease spread and destroyed the world as they knew it, and the survivors are scattered and struggling to survive against pressing odds. With each passing day bringing new challenges and hardships, the survivors must band together and restart society a new, but will they all make it in the end? No one knows.


**April 18, 2002**

A middle-aged man reported to Jubilife City news casters that he had found monsters in Eterna Forest. However, due to the nature of his story, the man's history of mental illness, and no evidence other than a grainy, out-of-focus photo to back him up, the man was rejected, branded a liar and his claims were put of as a hoax. Despite the rejection, the man continued to try to get his story on the news and had to be dealt with by the police multiple times. He was given a hefty restraining order from the premises of any news station in Jubilife City and was consequently never seen again.

**December 21, 2003**

The body of a young, female trainer was found dead and grossly mutilated just outside of Eterna Forest on Route 205. She was so badly mauled, the only thing identifying her as even human were sparse pieces of clothing still clinging onto what was left of her body. Luckily, her Trainer ID had miraculously survived, still inside of what was supposed to be her jacket pocket. With this, she was identified as a 13 year old girl named Lucie Palazzo, with a Kricketot and Sunkern on her team. Local law enforcement initiated an investigation but recovered next to nothing as to how the girl died the way she did. The body was in too bad of a state to gather much evidence from it, and with no evidence of foul play, no witnesses, or any wild Pokemon in the area that could have caused it, the case went completely cold. All anyone can do is hope that something like this will never happen again.

The girl's Pokemon, nor the Pokeballs that contained them, were ever found.

**January 10, 2004**

Residents of Eterna City, Jubilife City, and other areas bordering Eterna Forest were mortified to learn that three more bodies were discovered.

The first was Tia Vasquez, a veteran trainer mainly specializing in water type Pokemon, found in the outskirts of Jubilife City. She was found lying on her stomach, her back ripped open so deeply her spinal column and what was left of her internal organs were visible. Investigators theorized that, due to her Pokemon being missing and extensive bruising on her knuckles, Ms. Vasquez had tried to defend her team from their attacker and eventually resorted to using her body as a shield. Again, her Pokemon: Tentacruel, Starmie, Octillery, Lumineon, Vaporeon, and Rhydon, were never found, nor were their respective Pokeballs.

The second was a teenage boy named Marcus Ball. Unlike the other bodies, he was found in a state of advanced decay, his body having been hidden by thick undergrowth in Eterna Forest for what must have been weeks. He was discovered by a roaming group of backpackers after they were called by a Growlithe, apparently belonging to Marcus. Unfortunately, due to the level of decomposition and the Growlithe succumbing to mortal wounds of its own before one of the backpackers could come back with help, no real discoveries were made that were made. It was at this point that investigators began to think that a serial killer specifically targeting Pokemon trainers was the one behind these grisly deaths, as has happened in the past. It was so convincing that people were told to look out for any suspicious people in the area, but that stopped as soon as the next body was found.

Liam Ebert, six years old and never handled a Pokemon before, was found dead in a tree looking more like he was asleep. His body was fresh and the most unscathed out of all of them, giving more clues that the others, either too damaged or rotted, could ever have given. Bruising and claw marks around his ankles along with scraps on his stomach and face suggested he was dragged through Eterna Forest for a time before death, but what was even more disturbing was a large wound in his shoulder. It looked as if a large, carnivorous animal had viciously torn a chunk of flesh from the boys body, but the boy had managed to escape somehow and climbed up a tree to hide, where he consequently bled to death.

Investigators have officially declared that rouge, violent Pokemon, or several, loose in Eterna Forest are to blame for the four consecutive deaths, though it is unclear what it is that should be done as no one knows what it could possibly be or where it is in the forest.

**January 25, 2004**

Gardenia, gym leader of Eterna City, had taken it upon herself to search Eterna Forest for any suspicious activity in the local Pokemon, claiming to know the forest too well to not notice a single blade of grass that was out of place. She came back within a week, surprisingly with no results. She said that she saw nothing out of the ordinary, but a particularly observant person could have seen a hint of fear and trauma in her eyes. Anyone that challenged her gym afterwards were disturbed to find she no longer had her signature Roserade.

**February 21, 2004**

Gardenia was officially declared a missing person after inexplicably disappearing days before. To fill her absence in Eterna Gym, a man named Harvey, an expert trainer specializing in grass types, was instated as an acting gym leader until she is found.

**September 5, 2004**

What started with Gardenia had turned into a full blown pandemic: people are disappearing in Jubilife City, Eterna City, and neighboring areas with at least three individuals being reported missing a week, the highest number being 12 in one night. No one knows what in the world could be causing this, but whatever it was did not discriminate: adults, children, trainers, civilians, and even Eterna City's own Nurse Joy have disappeared without a trace. It was almost as if something was sneaking into civilization overnight to quietly drag of unsuspecting victims, some to be found later, dead of course, and many more still to never to be seen again.

It is suggested that Eterna Forest be barricaded from the public so professional can fully and thoroughly investigate and to prevent anymore unnecessary deaths but it is rejected as Eterna Forest, dangerous or not, provided a clear path through Sinnoh for travelers that must remain accessible.

Gardenia is still missing.

**November 15, 2004**

A group of trainers, Lucas, Dawn, and Barry respectively, met a fellow Pokemon trainer near the entrance of Eterna Forest. She asked them if she can tag along with them as she needs to get to the other side and is understandably scared to go alone. The group of trainers agree, but, unfortunately, they became lost.

After wandering the forest, they came upon an out of place, abandoned mansion. As it was late, the group of trainers argued whether it would be a good idea to hole up in the old building for the night, which they eventually agreed upon to do, something they would later regret.

They entered the mansion and, while exploring for a place to sleep, stumbled upon the worst thing possible.

They had found the first Hive.

Thy looked in absolute horror to see that these things, these monsters, had terraformed a large, windowless room in the mansion into a dark, stuffy void made of the stuff of nightmares. The walls, floor, and ceiling were covered in a sickly, yellow-black ooze that smelled rank, similar to burnt hair. Congested in this ooze were Pokemon and people, Gardenia and Nurse Joy amongst them, not unlike prey in a Spinarak's web. They looked to be mummified, their flesh now brown and dehydrated, looking like jerky. Hovering around the bodies like hungry house guests around Thanksgiving dinner were the monsters themselves. They were ugly things that can be best described as greasy, hairless, black blobs with what looked like the occasional, deformed limb or vestigial pair of wings thrown in. The only discernible facial feature on these things was a large gaping hole, lined with rows of sharp, serrated teeth to serve as its mouth. Worse yet, the group were disgusted to find that these creatures were the source of the ooze that was everywhere. They excreted it with surprising force out of pores on their body that opened up spontaneously and without warning to serve this nauseating purpose.

At this sight, the group ran. The creatures, having somehow noticed them without any way of seeing, smelling, or hearing, chased after them. Miraculously, they made it, but not without cost: Dawn, for no other reason than happening to be slightly more to the left than Barry, was caught. However, if it were not for Dawn getting caught and distracting the creatures just long enough, the others most likely would never have made it out.

Lucas, Barry, and Cheryl ran as fast as they could, traced their steps and made it back to Jubilife City where they reported the horrible sight they had just witnessed. After everything the remaining denizens had been through, they were willing to believe anything. The monsters were reported to the International Police the very next day.

**November 30, 2004**

After being hailed for the umpteenth time, International Police arrived in Sinnoh. They had been called by local law enforcements many times before to assist them with apparent killings and serial disappearances in the areas surrounding Eterna Forest, but before now, all calls were denied. As horrible as it sounded, the IP simply had bigger fish to fry, but now with these ravings of monsters in abandoned mansions causing hysteria around all of Sinnoh, this case had become too big to ignore.

After interviewing the towns people and the group of trainers that had found the colony of creatures, they launched a full scale investigation of the forest and mansion using a team of some of its best PIs, including codename Looker, and found that Lucas, Barry and Cheryl were telling the truth. They immediately quarantined the area and set out to find a way to exterminate the infestation. It was that night they found out the creatures do in fact become active and aggressive after sundown. The International Police lost many good serving men and women before sunrise, but managed to keep them contained in the quarantine area, preserving many lives.

The next morning, after recovering from the previous night's horrors, they experimented with the seemingly now dormant creatures in the mansion. At first, the investigative team assumed that perhaps these creatures were an undiscovered species of Pokemon, with which they responded by throwing Pokeballs at them, hoping to capture them. However, they were surprised to see that the Pokeballs just bounced right off them. Whatever these creatures were, they were not Pokemon. At this, the IP was forced to resort to more violent methods. They used their Pokemon, experimenting with different types and moves, going through any and all possibilities as fast as they could; they had to find a solution before it got dark. It was made obvious from the night before that they would not be able to stand up to the agitated creatures again.

Grass and bug types, so plentiful in Eterna Forest, seemed to have no effect on the creatures. It was much of the same with ground, normal, dark, fighting, flying, electric, poison, rock, steel, and even dragon and fairy type moves. All these elemental powers just seemed to be absorbed by the creatures' bodies like nothing. Water and ice types only seemed to make them more active. There was a slight reaction from psychic type moves, the creatures seeming to have an aversion the high frequencies emitted by them, but the type that yielded the most promising results was fire.

With an all too satisfying screech and a god awful smell, the things went up into flames like kindling, leaving nothing but a bubbling puddle of viscous fluid, and even that burnt like a dream. The International Police have found a simple yet elegant solution: burn the house down and purify the area of its disease.

The plan was enacted at 7:30 pm exactly. The house was doused in gasoline and multiple fire type Pokemon were ordered by their masters to use whatever fire-based attack they pleased, and the house went up in a massive explosion that could be seen for miles. It was beautiful.

Further investigation of the area only revealed ashes and the gooey puddles that served as the creatures' corpses and these too were burned until there was nothing left. For all intents and purposes, Operation Cleanse was a success. The nightmare was over.

**January 2, 2005**

On this date, Harvey was been officially recognized as Eterna Gym's permanent gym leader, replacing Gardenia. He quickly gained a reputation for being decisively difficult to beat due to his emphasis on speed and his keen skills in strategy.

**February 9, 2005**

What started as presumed hoaxes had erupted into an all out epidemic: the monsters from Eterna Forest were back and with a vengeance. They had multiplied in number 1000-fold seemingly overnight and are cropping up in every known region. How could this be, they were eradicated, were the thoughts of everyone. The International Police and many others saw those monster be blown up, melt into sickening globs of goop, and watched those burn as well.

Members of the International Police were deployed to almost every populated area to guard them overnight, and all capable people were asked to retrieve a fire type Pokemon or at least a Pokemon with fire type moves to protect themselves if need be. Every city in every region was on high alert for attacks by these creatures now officially named "gels" due to the gelatinous consistency of their bodies.

It was on this day, some of the most brilliant minds in the Pokemon world: Professor Samuel Oak of the Kanto Region, Oak's grandson, Blue, inventor of the Pokemon Storage System Bill Blaustien, also from Kanto, Professor Paul Elm of the Johto region, Professor Daniel Birch from Hoenn, the odd but hyper intelligent Professor Skyler Cozmo, also from Hoenn, Professor Sean Rowan from Sinnoh, Professors Aurea and Cedric Juniper from the Unova region, Aurea Juniper's assistant, Bianca Stevens, Dr. Therese Fennel, also from Unova, also from Unova was a relative unknown but none of the less brilliant researcher that referred to himself as Colress, Professor Olivia Burnet, and Professor Augustine Sycamore from the Kalos region gathered into one research group to study the gels, find out how they had gotten to other regions and how they were multiplying as fast as they were.

The researchers came up with many theories spawned from field observation, but no solid results. As dangerous as it was, the fact was that the professors would know nothing for sure about these creatures unless they got their hands on a live specimen. Something confined so they could constantly watch it up close and perform invasive biological tests to truly learn what made these things tick. Without it, the gels might as well be up to anyone's' interpretation.

Then it happened.

**March 15,2005**

In the Hoenn region, a team of three skilled trainers named Ethan, Steven Stone, and Cynthia, managed to trap a healthy gel in a specially made cage designed to retain a constant level of heat radiation that ensured the gel would not be going anywhere. This is the exact opportunity the researches have been waiting for. The specimen was delivered to their lab post-haste via helicopter and experimentation began right away.

**May 3, 2005**

After so much hard work and so many sleepless nights, the professors discover exactly how the gels had gotten to other regions and how they had been multiplying so quickly, and it is more horrible than anyone could have ever imagined.

The gels were Pokemon.

At first, those present were confused when the extensive DNA tests preformed on the specimen had come back the way they did. So much so in fact, Professor Sycamore and the two Junipers, the scientists presiding over the DNA cultures, thought they had spoiled the tests somehow, but after several retakes, it dawned on them that the results were not going to change because it was the truth.

This creature, according to its basic DNA, was a Jigglypuff.

It was hard to believe for the professors, and they were the ones seeing it. How could this abomination of nature be a Jigglypuff? What could have possibly caused physical mutation on this scale? What did this mean for the other gels out there? Were they Pokemon as well?

This problem puzzled every mind in the lab for weeks until Bianca, to her horror, discovered exactly how on this date.

A few days previous, Bianca had taken to using her spare time and breaks to feed and pet a stray Purrloin that lingered around the labs. The Professors were aware of this and did not think anything of it until a panicked, tearful Bianca rushed into the lab with the Purrloin in her arms. Saying nothing, she simply plopped the Purrloin's body in front of the Professors and they saw immediately what was upsetting her.

The Purrloin, other than the occasional twitch of its tail and the occasional yowl, looked to be dead. It probably would have been better off if it was.

It was covered with pulsating, malignant cysts that grew bigger before their eyes and popped with a sickening whoosh of air and stream of infected pus. Purrloin's body was grossly swollen and was coated in a thick, foul-smelling fluid. Its fur, teeth, and nails fell out with even the slightest breeze and its eyes, when opened, showed the pale, milkiness of blindness. None of the professors had ever seen anything like this before, but they knew that, obviously, this Pokemon was horribly ill, and that was cause enough for them to be concerned.

They attempted to calm the bereaved Bianca down and get her to tell them what had happened, to which she squeaked, "I-I don't know! I was petting it and all of a sudden it keeled over and-and-and," she was cut off by a sharp , sudden scream from Fennel. The Purrloin had suddenly stood up on its hind legs and something no one should ever have to see took place.

The Purrloin, hairless and barely recognizable as a Pokemon at this point, turned _inside out_. Not truly, but the transformation that took place appeared to make the Purrloin do so. Its recognizable flesh was violently shifted into a liquefied, black substance, contained by a translucent film. Its mouth, originally a feline muzzle, converted into a gaping, leech-like hole, in which several rows of teeth spontaneously grew in with a wet, gushing sound. Worst of all, what used to be Purrloin's tiny body grew to be twice the size of an average human man.

The Purrloin, to everyone's' terror had turned into a gel before their very eyes, and if it were not for Blue's quick thinking, summoning his Arcanine and ordering it to use Flare Blitz, it most likely would have killed them. Up until now, it was assumed the plummeting wild Pokemon populations was due to the gels catching them as prey, but now, it seemed that was only part of the problem. There was no room for doubt anymore: the gels were all once Pokemon. What was causing this was something that still needed to be studied, however.

After cleaning up after the previously mentioned event, further research was made upon samples of the remains, the gel already in their possession, and Bianca herself as she was the one in contact with the Purrloin turned gel. The results were so unexpected and yet so simple, everyone present was left dumbfounded: it was a virus.

This virus, dubbed Pokemon Forced Mutation Disease or PFMD, was what caused all this chaos. This disease of indeterminate origin, as was discovered through testing microscopic samples of Bianca's skin, is transferred via physical contact between a Pokemon and a carrier of any kind (by no coincidence was it made a rule to wear full hazmat suits to experiment with the gel). The virus then quickly penetrates the genetic code and changes it superficial makeup, forcing them to "evolve" into these creatures. It also altered the brain of the Pokemon, leaving only two baser instincts to control its actions: hunt and eat, all of this happening within a few days of exposure.

These discoveries of course raised many questions amongst the community of scientists, such as how exactly did this disease spread to other regions, and why was it not affecting the Pokemon belonging to trainers?

Professor Rowan was quick to answer the first question by pointing out that people carrying the disease could very easily bring PFMD with them without even knowing it, and that illegal Pokemon trading between regions may very well be a part of it.

Professor Oak answered the later question by reminding everyone of a very little known fact about Pokeballs; that they altered the captured Pokemon's DNA very slightly, no where near enough to matter, but just enough so that Pokemon becomes uniquely fitted to the one Pokeball. This is how a captured Pokemon can not be caught by another Pokeball as it no longer registers as a wild Pokemon, and how a used Pokeball knows what Pokemon belongs to it. It was not outside the realm of possibility that this less than .01% difference made captured Pokemon effectively immune to PFMD.

After further experimentation and study, it was found that all these theories were true. The only thing left to do was figure out who was to deliver the damaging news to the public.

After several heated arguments over this subject, each professor having their own reasons why it should or should not be them, it was eventually decided by drawing straws, the one with the shortest straw had to do it.

Bill got the shortest straw.

**October 30, 2005**

The press meeting took place in grand Lumiose City of the Kalos Region, inside of the Prism Tower which the gym leader Clemont lent just for this occasion. Bill looked very serious and glum as he stood behind a podium surrounded by thousands of microphones, news teams and the flashing lights journalists cameras. True, it was understandable that he would be unhappy because of the news he had to deliver, but that was only part of the problem. Bill was far from antisocial, in fact he loved it when he would get company in his house every now and then, but that did not change the fact that he detested being in the limelight. He preferred working behind the scenes, in a quiet, dimly-lit lab like the one he had at home. As such, being practically crushed by people intent on hearing his every word and being blinded by bright lights no matter where he turned made him want to scream like a toddler having a tantrum, but he grit his teeth and took it with a grain of salt. Like it or not, he just had to suck it up. He had a job to do.

He tapped on one of the microphones to signal everyone to quiet down. Once the building went dead silent, Bill cleared his throat, introduced himself as Bill Blaustien, inventor of the Pokemon PC box system and collaborative scientist of the gel studies and he thanked everyone for sparing their time and coming. He then went on to explain his and the other professors' discoveries without wasting any time on frivolities. He simply was not in the mood to lighten the air with a joke.

Despite his rising temper, Bill spoke calmly and measuredly, never pausing to say "uh" or "um". His speech was clear and informative, maybe even a bit _too_ informative. Many people had to excuse themselves with pale faces.

He began wrapping up his speech by explaining that the best ways to prevent any further spreading was to limit traveling, endorsing cleanliness and sanitation, and avoiding contact with wild Pokemon all together, and that if wild Pokemon are found in the area, it should be reported to any Pokemon Center. A special retrieval team would then take them to safety and test them for the disease.

After a moments silence, he finished up his speech by asking, "Any questions?"

Of course a storm of questions rained on the poor Bill as soon as he asked. He selected every raised hand one by one and answered each question the best he could. Most of them were stupid questions, but there were two questions in particular that were actually very good as they clarified two topics Bill had failed to mention.

"Is this disease contagious to humans?"

"No," Bill was able to say with a good deal of relief. "PFMD only affects Pokemon DNA, but as I said before, we do still carry the disease on our skin and it will infect a wild Pokemon if we touch them."

The second was a bit more hard to answer.

"Is there a cure?"

Bill was not sure how to answer this question right away. He went silent for moment, thinking about what say. This was not going to be an easy thing to swallow for the public, heck, he hardly wanted to believe it himself, but even a scientist has to admit when modern medicine has hit a wall. When a Pokemon contracts PFMD and turns into a gel, that Pokemon essentially dies and is revived as something else. No, there was no cure, because in this case, there was nothing _to_ cure.

Bill took a deep breath through his nose before he spoke, having finally decided what would be the best way to deliver the grimmest news yet to the entire world.

"No," he said.

Then he left.

He blocked out the roaring crowd as he exited Prism Tower through the rear door. He was _through_ with this press conference and did not want to stick around any longer. He had answered all the important questions, given all the information he was meant to give and then some, and explained to everyone how to best prevent any more gels from cropping up. Bill's job was _done_.

What was to happen next was simply out of his hands.

**October 20, 2006**

Despite Bill's highly informative and symbolic speech and following awareness campaigns, the gel population continued to grow faster than they could be killed. Their numbers had become overwhelming and their attacks continued to grow more violent. Death tolls are at an all time high now that people find themselves defending their humble villages from virtual armies once the sun went down. Society is on the verge of collapsing.

It was on this day, it was decided by the Pokemon world's closest thing to a form of government (after the time of feuding emperors and warring regions, it had never needed one), the Pokemon League, that desperate times called for desperate measures. This threat presented by the gels must be exterminated all at once or not at all. A second, global scale Operation Cleanse was put into sequence.

To prepare for the fallout, special, fireproof shelters were built to house the survivors while people of significant importance, such as the professors and gym leaders, received a fortress-like bunker carved within the heart of Mt. Coronet, sealed tight from the outside world by huge, lead doors. The intention was to prevent as much civilian death as possible.

After some searching, a boy named Natural Harmonia Gropius, or N as he preferred to be called, was discovered and pinpointed as the perfect person to do the job. It was not so much that he was qualified to kill monsters, it was that he had come to comtrol a Reshiram. Not only was Reshiram a powerful fire type Pokemon that could fly around the world in no time, it was a legendary, and, as it was discovered, legendary Pokemon fought off the disease much better than average Pokemon, making them almost immune. Almost.

At first, he refused, saying that he believed that he would be abusing Reshiram's power if he did, but he was eventually convinced when he was told that, if he did not do it, wild Pokemon may very well go extinct. He went out into the world the next day to burn every Hive of gels out there with Reshiram's righteous flames. It seemed the world would be saved and brought back a new. N would be a hero recorded in time forever.

**_Two Years Later..._**

Operation Cleanse failed.


End file.
